A new improvisational comedy group will put on its first public performances next week in Lansing.
WKAR’s Scott Pohl takes us Inside The Arts with JT Tosolt, the founder of Bare Bones Improv ahead of its debut at Riverwalk Theatre on April 25 and 26.
Interview Highlights
On how the group came together
I had some experience doing improv because I had done it as a hobby in college and been in improv shows. So, I actually taught my castmates for "Trail To Oregon" some improv games, and it was so fun, and the cast afterwards said "You should start an improv team," and I said, "No, that's terrifying!" So, I ended up meeting up with my dear friend Mani Collazo, who is my co-lead and other founding leader, and she had asked me, "Do you know if there's improv in the area?" And I said "No, but my cast mates wanted me to start one," and she goes, "I’d do that with you." That's kind of how this began.
On what audience members can expect from the show
They are going to find a lot of laughs. They're going to find a show where they get to shout out answers and prompts for us to use and really feel like they're a part of it and building this funny thing with us together. They will probably feel like they've entered a big community since we have a lot of our regulars coming in to help out, volunteering, making sure the show runs smoothly.
On the future of Bare Bones Improv
I think from here we definitely want to keep up with our regular practices and I think we also want to do more shows. We are working with other improv groups to be openers for them when they visit. We have done other community events as well as quick little openers or intermission acts, and I would love to see more of those.
Interview Transcript
Scott Pohl: A new improvisational comedy group will put on its first public performances next week in Lansing.
We go Inside The Arts with the founder of Bare Bones Improv, coming to Riverwalk Theatre. JT Tosolt, welcome.
JT Tosolt: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
Pohl Give me the bare bones facts about Bare Bones Improv.
Tosolt: Bare Bones began because I was in a production at the Riverwalk Theater about two years ago called "The Trail to Oregon," and there were a lot of improv elements within that show. I had some experience doing improv because I had done it as a hobby in college and been in improv shows. So, I actually taught my castmates for "Trail To Oregon" some improv games, and it was so fun, and the cast afterwards said "You should start an improv team," and I said, "No, that's terrifying!"
So, I ended up meeting up with my dear friend Mani Collazo, who is my co-lead and other founding leader, and she had asked me, "Do you know if there's improv in the area?" And I said "No, but my cast mates wanted me to start one," and she goes, "I’d do that with you." That's kind of how this began. I messaged Katrina Robinson, our wonderful producer, and it just sort of came from there. We founded the group and reached out and found a home at Riverwalk.
Pohl: Was that always the plan that at some point there would actually be a show?
Tosolt: So, that was definitely our pie in the sky goal to one day have a show, but it wasn't part of the plan until we realized how feasible it actually would end up being. Pretty soon after we started working with Riverwalk and started doing opening practices, they came to us and said, "Hey, we'd love to have you do a show. Here are some slots," and we said "Okay!" and we went with it. So that's what's coming up next weekend, actually.
Pohl: Because of this trajectory, was there a quality control point at which you were like, "Are we ready for this? I guess we are." Was that part of your thinking?
Tosolt: Yeah, so that definitely came up for us. When we were getting closer to these shows, we did end up holding auditions for a show team specifically. So, while we do still have our Tuesday open practices for absolutely everyone, we added an extra hour at the end of those practices where we just work with those who auditioned and are on that show team where we can do more intense feedback back and forth, give each other critiques, work on specific skills and build up and collaborate towards this show. So, there was that point where we made sure to have things ready for the show coming up.
Pohl: We're talking with JT Tosolt about the Bare Bones Improv show coming to Riverwalk Theatre in Lansing next week. So, what will an audience find when they attend this program?
Tosolt: They are going to find a lot of laughs. They're going to find a show where they get to shout out answers and prompts for us to use and really feel like they're a part of it and building this funny thing with us together. They will probably feel like they've entered a big community since we have a lot of our regulars coming in to help out, volunteering, making sure the show runs smoothly.
They'll also probably be in the audience, too, having a blast. So I think they'll find not only a really fun show, an evening full of laughs, but a really cool community that they could easily join if they so wanted to.
Pohl: Do you think Bare Bones has a future beyond this program then?
Tosolt: Of course. I think Bare Bones has only grown in the time that we've seen it be. We started with very humble beginnings of not even knowing if people would come to practices, to having a very solid, regular amount of people coming in every week through the doors. We actually made a short film as well that we submitted for the Fortnite Film Festival at the Capital City Film Fest, and that ended up in some of the top judges picks and was screened at the live event.
So, we got to have a lot of our community come and see the film and see the thing that they had worked on together. So I think from here we definitely want to keep up with our regular practices and I think we also want to do more shows. We are working with other improv groups to be openers for them when they visit. We have done other community events as well as quick little openers or intermission acts, and I would love to see more of those. I think I think we can do it.
Pohl: Bare Bones Improv performs Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26 at Riverwalk Theatre in Lansing. I get a kick out of this: the Friday show, according to the Facebook page, starts at 8 p.m. The Saturday show starts at 8:01.
JT Tosolt is the founder of Bare Bones Improv. Thanks for your time and good luck with the show.
Tosolt: Thank you. Hope to see you all there.
Pohl: With Inside The Arts, I'm Scott Pohl.
